Credit Card Minimum Payment Calculator
See how long it takes and how much interest you pay if you only make the minimum payment.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
How to use this tool
Enter your current credit card balance, the card's APR, and how the minimum payment is set. Most US cards calculate the minimum as a small percentage of your balance (often 1 to 3 percent) but never less than a fixed dollar floor (commonly 25 to 40 dollars). Type those two values, click Calculate payoff, and the credit card minimum payment calculator iterates month by month to show how many years you would be in debt and the total interest you would pay if you only ever sent the minimum.
How it works
Because the required minimum shrinks as the balance shrinks, paying only the minimum creates a credit card payoff loop: the payment keeps getting smaller right alongside the balance, so progress slows to a crawl. That long-term interest debt timeline is exactly why minimum-only payments are so expensive. This calculator stops counting once the fixed dollar floor finally pays the balance off, which is what eventually breaks the loop.
A real example
Suppose you owe 5,000 dollars at 22.99 percent APR, with a minimum of 2 percent of the balance and a 35 dollar floor. The first month's interest is about 95.79 dollars and the minimum is 100 dollars, so only about 4.21 dollars goes toward the actual debt. Following that schedule to the end, it takes roughly 23 years to clear the card and you pay over 7,000 dollars in interest, more than the original balance. Seeing the true cost of paying minimum balance side by side with the loan amount is usually enough to motivate paying extra.
Common questions
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
The minimum is a percentage of the balance, so as the balance drops the payment drops too. Early on, most of your payment is interest and very little reduces the principal. This credit card payoff loop stretches the timeline out for many years.
What is the minimum payment floor?
It is the smallest dollar amount your card will accept as a minimum, even when the percentage works out lower. A common floor is 25 to 40 dollars. The floor is what finally pays the card off, since the percentage alone would shrink toward zero forever.
How much can I save by paying more than the minimum?
A lot. Adding even a small fixed amount on top of the minimum shortens the payoff dramatically and cuts the total interest, because the extra goes straight to principal. Try entering a higher minimum percent to see the difference in the long-term interest debt timeline.
Is this the same math my card company uses?
It uses the standard approach: interest accrues monthly on the balance and the minimum is the greater of a percentage or a fixed floor. Real statements may differ slightly due to daily compounding, fees, or different minimum rules, so treat this as a close estimate.
Does this calculator save my financial data?
No. Every calculation happens locally in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, logged, or stored anywhere.
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Your actual payoff timeline and interest may vary based on your card's exact terms.